Social Studies 11
The 1930s: A Decade of Despair
Causes of the Great Depression (pp. 90-93)
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de
Chapter 4 Worksheet
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Name - ______________
Date - _______________
Block - ______________
1. What usually happens to the price of a commodity or good if there is too much of it available? Give an
example.(2 Marks)____________________________________________________________________
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2. A certain country has large reserves of a certain commodity but no one else has it. What effect could
this have on prices?(1)_________________________________________________________________
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3. Study Figure 4-2 on page 90. How do you think governments might involve themselves in the cycle?(2)
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4. During the 1930’s what was a “weakness” in the Canadian economy? (1)
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5. Why was the imposition of tariffs a “tit for tat” procedure which did not help end the Depression? (2)
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USA imposed tariffs to keep foreign goods out
6. By 1929 WW 1 had been over for 10 years. What relation did the war have to economic matters a
decade after it ended? (2) _______________________________________________________________
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War debt was still an issue.
7. Look at Figure 4-4 on page 92. Saskatchewan’s average per capita income decreased 72%. Why do you
think Saskatchewan’s per capita income declined more than any other province? (1)
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Dependence on wheat
The Desperate Years: Making Ends Meet (pp. 94-100)
1. Economic problems for prairie farmers were made worse by natural forces. List at least four.(1)
__________________ ___________________ ___________________ __________________
2. Refer to the graph in Figure 4-6. When did wheat prices return to 1925 levels? (1) ________________
3. a. Economic hardship brought out the worst in Canadian society. Use point form to show at least six
examples of this. (6) - _________________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________________________________
- _______________________________________________________________________________
© ProActive Curriculum Ltd. – Rev: 3/9/2016
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b. Read “Faces of Despair: Women in the 1930s” (pp. 98-99) Find at least three examples of how the
Depression also brought out the best in people. (3) - ______________________________________
- __________________________________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________________________________
4. Deflation made life easier for some people during the Depression years. How was this possible? (2)
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Responding to the Depression (pp. 101-105)
1. Explain why King’s “..a five cent piece..” comment cost him his job. (2)
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2. Why did the government of R.B. Bennett, elected in 1930 pass legislation such as the Unemployment
Relief Act and the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act even though he was philosophically opposed to
government intervention in the economy? (1) _______________________________________________
3. What was the purpose of the national system of work camps? Give examples.(2) ___________________
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4. What was the relation between the “Red Scare” belief and the On-to-Ottawa trek? (2) _______________
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accused the trek leaders as being communis
5. Why did Vancouver experience “sit-ins”? (1) _______________________________________________
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6. a. Use the chart below to compare Roosevelt’s New Deal, to Bennett’s New Deal. (4)
Roosevelt’s New Deal
Bennett’s New Deal
b. In what ways were they the same? (1) ___________________________________________________
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c. Review your list of Bennett’s “New Deal” initiatives. Star the ones that still exist? Do you think
their continued presence validates Bennett’s policies? Explain. (2) ___________________________
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d. Study the cartoon on page 104. The cartoonist is suggesting that the money the government is
putting into the economy is wasted (“leak”). Whose economic theory is the government following
by “priming” the pump? (See “Counterpoints” on page 105.) (1) ____________________________
© ProActive Curriculum Ltd. – Rev: 3/9/2016
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